We share our planet with countless incredible creatures, from the grizzly on the ridgeline to the bee in the meadow, from the wolf in the forest to the butterfly in our backyard. Many are on the brink of extinction — but instead of helping, the Trump administration is weakening the Endangered Species Act and expanding drilling and logging in vital habitats. It’s up to us to protect endangered species and the habitats they call home.

We need a wide range of tools to protect vulnerable species and their habitats. The best tool in the United States is the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which has a 99 percent success rate in keeping species under its protection from becoming extinct. The ESA has brought back from the brink of extinction the bald eagle, grizzly bear, California condor, American alligator, humpback whale, Florida manatee and more.

In the long-term, we need to strengthen the ESA to include protections that kick in when a species’ numbers begin to fall, rather than waiting until their very survival is threatened to act.

And beyond the ESA, we need to keep habitats large and whole to give wildlife even more space. Specifically, we need to promote the expansion of wildlife corridors through our support of the bipartisan Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act. We must also stop proposals that threaten America’s wild places, which are not only worth protecting for their own sake but are also important habitats. That’s why we’re working to stop plans to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where polar bears and caribou roam; to log the untamed roadless areas of the Tongass National Forest, home to trees older than America; and to open the Pacific and Atlantic coasts for expanded offshore drilling, which leads to spilling and will harm whales, dolphins, otters and more.

outdoorsman via Shutterstock.com

Together, we can protect our natural world

At a time when we’re running short on nature, we need to do everything we can to protect it. The call of a bird in the wild or the rustling of an antelope in the brush is priceless — worth far more than the minerals we could extract or the high-rise condo we could develop.

We need to protect our natural world, and that starts with stopping these reckless attacks on species and habitats. We can accomplish all of this by convincing our fellow Americans that we should no longer tolerate sacrificing nature for a little more oil, timber or other economic productions.

Take the next step

We're losing species at an alarming rate, and scientists warn we're nearing another mass extinction. Tell your members of Congress to protect endangered species by passing the PAW and FIN Conservation Act.

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